Quicker Than The Eye
by chantelle1979
Summary: Brennan/Shalimar - Brennan and Shalimar get given an assignment that could change everything forever.
1. Sparring

Title - Quicker Than The Eye  
  
Author - Chantelle  
  
Pairing - Brennan/Shalimar  
  
Rating - PG-13  
  
Summary - Brennan and Shalimar have an assignment that could change everything.  
  
Disclaimer - Don't own them.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Brennan and Shalimar had been training for half an hour, a very physical half an hour. Brennan didn't think he could take anymore, but he didn't want to show any weakness to Shalimar. He loved watching her with the sexy look on her face that she got only when she was kicking butt. Suddenly he felt a hard kick in the middle of his chest.  
  
"Brennan...Brennan, are you even paying attention? That kick was simple to block. Come on keep up, we are only just warming up." Shalimar said with a smirk on her face. She knew how tired he was, however she also knew he would never admit it.  
  
"Yeah, I was just giving you a chance." Brennan said, trying to even his breathing out.  
  
"Team meeting in five minutes in the lab." Adam's voice came over their comrings. However Brennan's leg was midair about to land a powerful kick to Shalimar's ribs, knowing she could easily flip out of the way, but she had been distracted by Adam's message. Before he knew it, Brennan felt his leg connect full force to her ribs and then Shalimar flying onto the ground.  
  
"Shal...Shal...I am so, so sorry. I'm really sorry, Shal." A large wave of guilt passed over Brennan and he hurried over to her and checked her out.  
  
"Brennan, I'm fine," she replied, hiding the pain she felt in her side. Shalimar saw how guilty he felt and didn't want to make him feel any worse. Plus her feral pride was upset that she had missed such an easy block just after she had been teasing him about it.  
  
"I'm sorry, Shal. Let me have a look." His fingers ran lightly down her side and went to lift her shirt up to see if there was going to be any bruising. Shalimar suppressed her reflex to flinch from pain and pushed his hand away quickly.  
  
'Geez, she must be really angry at me.' Brennan thought, feeling hurt that she wouldn't even let him look at her.  
  
"Bren...I'm okay. Trust me, you can't take me down that easy," She gave him a little smile and got herself up.  
  
"Come on, the rest of the gang will be waiting for us. I'm really okay." Shalimar said off Brennan's still uneasy look.  
  
As they walked towards the lab Brennan studied her closely but Shalimar seemed okay. He let out a deep breath, relaxed and kept on walking.  
  
TBC 


	2. The Crime

Disclaimer - Definitely not mine. Brennan and Shalimar would have gotten it on a long time ago.  
  
Thank you everyone for all the reviews. They certainly gave me the encouragement to keep going with the story. Thank you!!! (Also got some inspiration from the new SFX in Australia. Thank god for all those S/B pictures and references. It made me want to get started writing straight away.) Chantelle  
  
Chapter Two  
  
As they walked into the lab, Shalimar walked up behind Jesse to see what he was holding. She grimaced when she saw he was holding a picture of a young girl, not much younger than herself, who was lying dead in the middle of a field somewhere. Shalimar looked up to see Brennan with a similar look on his face, looking at a picture Adam had handed him.  
  
"What the hell, Adam. Who would do something like this?" Shalimar asked their leader who was handing more pictures to Emma to pass around.  
  
"I don't know. There's been eight mutants killed so far, with only three things in common," he ticked them off on his fingers. "All in their twenties, all were mutants and all were female." The three men of the group looked towards the girls. Shalimar looked into Brennan's eyes and saw a glimmer of protectiveness pass through them. Shalimar turned to Adam feeling a little awkward but safe from the look.  
  
"But what happened to them, and what could Eckhart possibly want with them if he only wants to kill them?"  
  
"Actually I don't think Eckhart has anything to do with this. I think this is a lone vigilante with a bit of a grudge against mutants." Adam looked down at the folders in his hands and passed one to Shalimar.  
  
"This is the first girl, Gina Carter. A 23-year-old fire elemental, works in a department store downtown. She went out one night with a group of friends to a club and halfway through the night she went missing. Six days later they found her in a field, dead, and looked like she had been only left there a few hours." Brennan, Emma and Jesse crowded around Shalimar to look at the picture of the young Gina lying on the ground looking anything but peaceful.  
  
"But what did this guy do to her?" Jesse said, feeling pain for what this girl had to endure.  
  
"If you look on the next page, you can see clearly how her hands have third degree burns all over them. There is also bruising around the wrists where we can assume she was restrained. She had large chunks of hair missing, looking like they had been yanked out quite forcefully. Large gashes on her back, stomach and legs, smaller cuts on her neck and face, and this." Adam showed them a close up of her foot with a couple of toes missing.  
  
"He not only severed her toes, but it seems that he actually ripped them off with his teeth. Definitely not Eckhart material." Emma turned away completely feeling sick to the stomach, while Jesse glanced away holding his breath. Brennan took a step closer to Shalimar and with gritted teeth said,  
  
"I want to get this guy. He makes me sick."  
  
"Yeah we need a plan," Shalimar chimed in, "this guy is not even human."  
  
"Oh, he's human alright," Adam said, "We've got dental impressions, and there's a couple of finger marks in the bruises around her ribs. But it led to nothing."  
  
"Is the M.O. similar to all of the eight girls?" Shalimar asked, however she really didn't want to know what else this guy was capable of.  
  
"Surprisingly yes. He seems to stick to the same routine, however with some of the later girls this guy seems to have gotten a bit more angrier." Adam showed them a picture of the last victim. All four of the young mutants had to avert their eyes for a few seconds to control their feelings.  
  
"Donna Mannler, 26, psionic. She was found two days ago in a sewage drain. The cuts on the back and face seem more brutal and deep, and...well...as you can see he...um...bit off her nose and left ear along with her toes this time." Adam looked at the group, wishing he never had to show them how people could be so cruel to other people, especially mutants like themselves.  
  
Shalimer swallowed before saying, "Well...other than the, um, injuries, have any other patterns emerged, like the place of abduction?" All of the mutants glanced at Adam hopefully for at least some kind of lead to go on.  
  
"He does seem to pick clubs, but not always the same night club. The abduction always takes place at night but not always at the same time. Some were in the early hours of the morning. Other than that the only other constant is that he keeps the girls for exactly six days and then dumps their bodies in different locations. Some of the locations have been up to 75 kilometres apart, so we know he has some kind of transportation." Adam sighed, he knew he didn't have much information at the moment and was disappointing his group.  
  
"And there were no eyewitnesses to any of the abductions?" Emma asked, not believing how this guy could get away with these women without at least one person seeing them.  
  
"Not any that have come forward. Even the friends they were with didn't notice anything. They would be dancing and when they finished, they would notice that someone was missing."  
  
"So what are we going to do about it. You obviously have a plan, so what is it?" Shalimar was getting impatient, she had heard enough to know that she wanted to take this guy down.  
  
"Well, that's what I need to talk to you about. This needs to be an undercover operation. Three of you will be visiting clubs around town, and you Emma, I want you to stay here and man the computers. We can hack into the nightclub security cameras and watch everything and everyone for any odd behaviour." Adam said getting into operation mode.  
  
"What, why?!" Emma said. "I want to get this guy as much as everyone else, why do I have to stay behind?"  
  
"Emma.." Adam sighed, "I need fighters out there. We don't know what to expect with this guy, and I need someone with me here to keep an eye on everything."  
  
"Fine, but I want everyone to know I am not happy about this," Emma replied.  
  
"Okay. Now one last thing. We're going to need some bait to get this guy to show himself." He looked at Shalimar  
  
"All right," Shalimar said.  
  
"No," Brennan replied at the same time as he stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder.  
  
TBC 


	3. Verbal Sparring

Thank you for all the great reviews. I'm loving writing this story and I have a lot of ideas for it so it might be a long one. However this chapter is only short but I hope you still enjoy it. Chantelle  
  
Chapter Three  
  
"What?" Both Adam and Shalimar said as Shalimar shrugged out of Brennan's touch and turned to him. Brennan never skipped a beat, conviction strong in his eyes and voice.  
  
"You're not doing this. There's no reason you have to do it this way. There must be another plan we can come up with, because this one is a load of crap." Brennan stated staring into Shalimar's eyes the whole time and glancing towards Adam at the end.  
  
"Come on, Emma. I'll show you the thing I got yesterday," Jesse said as he sensed a standoff looming.  
  
"Thing? What thing? I want to stay..." Emma replied as Jesse dragged her by the arm out of the lab. Brennan, Adam and Shalimar had not moved since Brennan's last comment.  
  
"Brennan, what the hell?! I think I'm capable of making my own decisions. I can handle this." Shalimar was starting to get defensive. Brennan turned towards Adam.  
  
"Adam you must be able to see how dangerous this is. How can you put her in danger like that? It's too much of a risk." Shalimar didn't give Adam a chance to reply.  
  
"I am doing this. I don't want there to be a ninth victim and if I can do anything to stop it from happening I will."  
  
"Shal I don't want another killing to happen, but I sure as hell don't want there to be any chance of it being you. The error margin for this operation is too large." Brennan was adamant that this assignment was not going to happen. He turned and picked up a picture of Donna Mannler.  
  
"Look at this girl. I don't want this to happen again, but look at her Shalimar. This can't...it WON'T be you!" But the look in Shalimar's eyes told him he was not going to get his way.  
  
"You are not my father, my brother, or...anything, but my friend. And as my friend I would hope that you will be there for me to back me up no matter what my decision is. I am going to do this with or without your blessing but I want you there to watch my back. Please Brennan." Shalimar was angry that Brennan would be treating her like some fragile porcelain doll, he knew her better than that. Gee, she could even kick his butt. But he meant a lot to her, more than she could admit, and she didn't want this coming between them.  
  
"Adam, you can't seriously allow her to do this." Brennan looked at him pleadingly.  
  
Adam took a deep breath, "It's up to Shalimar if she wants to do this or not. I support her either way."  
  
"FINE!" Brennan yelled at them both. The anger and the hurt tumbled around inside of him. 'Why won't she listen to me? I'm only trying to protect her. I want her to be safe.' He swung around punching the wall as hard as he was able as he stormed out of the lab.  
  
Adam and Shalimar just stared at the doorway where Brennan just left, unsure of what to say to one another. Adam turned to her, noticing the hurt and confusion in her eyes.  
  
"Brennan just doesn't want to see you hurt. You have to understand we've become a family to him. He is very protective of all of you." Adam knew there was more to it, but didn't think it was the time or place to mention it.  
  
"I don't want to hear it Adam. I'm doing this and Brennan just has to deal with it one way of another. I don't think I could handle another young mutant being killed and knowing I could have done something about it." She looked at Adam, her eyes full of resolve. But she sensed there was something else he wanted to say to her.  
  
"What else is there, Adam?"  
  
"There isn't any information I kept back, if that's what you mean," Adam spoke uneasily, "however, I didn't want to mention this in front of the rest of the group. There is a very likely chance that this guy will get you, even with Brennan and Jesse in the club with you. This guy is ultra fast and clever. If anyone can outsmart him, it's you. However, I really don't want to bring this up, but Shalimar if he gets you, don't give up. We'll be there. I know how unnecessary this advice sounds, but I don't know what else to say. This mission is extremely dangerous and more than anything else I wish that you didn't have to go." Adam finished and looked down. Guilt washed over him that he was sending out a girl who was like a daughter to him into certain danger.  
  
"Adam, it's okay. I know what you're trying to say. Even though you took a very roundabout way of saying it," she gave a slight smile trying to ease the tension in the room. "I understand how dangerous this is and what can happen. But we'll do this, we WILL get this guy..." Shalimar paused for a second. She wasn't used to sharing her emotions so openly, but she had to do it.  
  
"Adam, if anything does happen, it's not your fault. I am going on this mission willingly, I wouldn't have it any other way. And now that we've talked this subject to death, I'm going to go and find some party clothes. If I'm going into danger, I'm going to look hot doing it." Shalimar was sick of such serious talk and wanted to get back to some light hearted conversation. Adam noticed and took his cue.  
  
"Of course, we wouldn't want it any other way." Adam watched her walk out of the lab with a look of hope and fear in his eyes.  
  
TBC 


	4. The Plan

Thank you so much for all the great reviews. Wow, I was only kind of writing this for myself, but I'm glad everyone is enjoying it so much. Please keep giving me feedback. Trust me, it keeps me wanting to write more. Chantelle  
  
Chapter Four  
  
While Shalimar was in her room getting dressed, Brennan was just lying in the garden looking at nothing. But a million thoughts raced through his head.  
  
'I can't lose her, I can't. Why is she doing this? What if I'm not enough to protect her? What if the next body is hers...'  
  
"NO," he yelled to the thoughts in his head. 'It's not going to happen. I want to die before anything happens to her.' Brennan stood up, rubbed his eyes, and headed towards Shalimar's room.  
  
"I can't leave things like they are," he sighed as he headed towards Shalimar's room.  
  
*****  
  
Shalimar had finally decided on her leather pants, a red halter top, and what she called her bad girl boots. Her side had been hurting her all day but bending down to put on her boots was a killer. She had looked and only saw one large hell of a bruise but couldn't feel anything broken.  
  
'I don't want to bother Adam with such a little thing. Plus if I told Adam, Brennan was sure to find out, and not only will he feel guilty, he sure as hell won't let me go tonight. Brennan...' She'd been thinking about him a lot lately but didn't know what to do about. Half the time Shalimar wasn't sure if he was an overprotective brother or an overprotective boyfriend.  
  
At that moment she heard a knock at the door and then a very soft voice say, "Can I come in Shal?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm all decent." She steadied herself for a big conversation that Brennan was sure to want.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi."  
  
'Well, this is going well," Brennan thought as they looked at each other.  
  
"You look incredible." His eyes looked her up and down as Shalimar blushed.  
  
"Let's hope that this guy thinks the same thing," Shalimar replied as Brennan cringed.  
  
"Look, I know you don't want me going tonight and I accept that. But I AM going. So please tell me you'll be there with me." With that Brennan looked up surprised. 'How could she even think that I won't be there for her?'  
  
"Shal, no matter what I think of this mission, I am going to be there. I wouldn't have it any other way. If anything happened to you I..." Brennan paused and looked down. How could he say what he felt when he didn't even know what it was. He knew he loved her, but in what way was another story. Shalimar shook him out of his reverie and he looked back into her eyes.  
  
"Bren, it's alright. Nothing is going to happen. We are going to go in and get this guy, come home and then I'll kick your ass in the dojo." Brennan couldn't help himself but give her a little smile.  
  
"But seriously Brennan, I trust you. And I know that you and Jesse will be there for me. I'm not worried...much." They stood and looked into each other's eyes, hundreds of words passing between them but neither spoke.  
  
'I'm going to kiss her. I have to kiss her,' Brennan said to himself and his hand reached to her side. But when he touched the bruise there, Shalimar flinched and Brennan quickly put his hand down. Hurt filled his eyes and his brain just went blank.  
  
"Um...I'm just going to go and see if Adam has any more instructions for tonight," Brennan mumbled as he turned away from her.  
  
"Brennan, no. You don't understand..." But Brennan just kept on walking. He didn't want to hear whatever let down she was going to give him.  
  
"It's nothing, Shal," he called to her. "Just hurry up will ya. We don't have all night." He turned and gave her a smile even though he was dying inside. Shalimar turned and finished getting ready, a sadness filling her body.  
  
****  
  
When she walked downstairs she saw Adam giving instructions to Jesse and Brennan.  
  
"Okay, Emma's watching the nightclub right now through the security cameras. We've got nothing yet. If nothing happens at Connection tonight, we'll try The Cri tomorrow. Now I need one of you boys to act as Shalimar's boyfriend and the other one to stay back a little but always be watching her."  
  
"Why can't we just pretend to be a group and walk in together?" Jesse asked Adam.  
  
"We don't want to scare this guy off. We want him to think he has a reasonable chance of getting her. Hopefully that's why he will choose her." He glanced up and saw Shalimar walking towards them. "And Shalimar I want you to show a power of yours some time during the night. Just flash your eyes or something to get his attention. Nothing too obvious." Shalimar nodded. He turned back to the two boys.  
  
"Have you two decided which role you will be playing?"  
  
"I'll be her boyfriend," they both said in unison.  
  
"Well I'm glad you two made this decision together," Adam said slightly smiling while watching the two mutants squaring off against each other.  
  
"Shalimar is like a sister to me and I want to be by her side for this," Jesse said with gritted teeth.  
  
"Well, I lo..." Brennan stopped and calmed down a bit. "I've been against this mission from the start and if we have to do this, I am going to be right beside her. Plus I've got more of a chance of fighting him off if he does show his face." Brennan had lost every other argument so far, he sure as hell wasn't going to lose this one. Adam saw this resolution in his face and knew he would be the perfect man for the job.  
  
"Okay, Brennan, you're it," Jesse scowled at both of them. "You're sure about it?"  
  
Brennan stared into Shalimar's eyes, "I'm sure."  
  
"Okay then. Jesse, you are going to go in to Connection half an hour before these two. Sit at the bar and wait for them. As soon as you see them walk in, don't let Shalimar out of your sight. But stay a few metres back and be discreet."  
  
"Fine I got it. I'm going now." He turned to Shalimar. "You be careful, I'll be watching you, so don't try to be a hero and wander off by yourself."  
  
"I won't let her, " Brennan replied.  
  
"Okay." Jesse gave Shalimar a hug. A spark of jealousy ran up Brennan's body as Jesse held her. But he didn't see Shalimar's grimace as Jesse squeezed her side. Jesse let go of her and walked out of the Sanctuary.  
  
"All right, now that we've got everything settled, I want to tell you two again, don't relax for a second. This guy can come at anytime. Be careful, and Brennan, you bring her home safe." Adam said to the two, wishing that the night was over already.  
  
"Hey boys. I can look after myself you know." Shalimar was in mission mode and was bored of standing around waiting.  
  
"I know but that doesn't mean I don't still worry," Adam replied.  
  
"Let's get out of here, we can drive around until it's time to go in." She turned around and headed towards the cars.  
  
Adam looked at Brennan, his eyes telling the young mutant to be on guard and do whatever was necessary to protect Shalimar.  
  
Brennan nodded and turned to go to meet Shalimar.  
  
TBC 


	5. Elation and Grief

I am so happy with all the great reviews I've been getting. Keep them coming. I know a few people were disappointed with the length of the past chapters, so this one's a little longer. Tell me what you think. Anyone who wants to see something in the story, don't hesitate to ask me.  
  
Chantelle  
  
Chapter Five  
  
They had been driving for only a few minutes. Shalimar was looking out the window, while Brennan kept glancing at her and the time intermittently.  
  
'Twenty-six minutes to go. Geez, any other time I would love to be alone with Shalimar, but now it's just awkward. I wish she would just look at me.' Brennan sighed as Shalimar turned to him.  
  
"I'm looking at you, Brennan. What do you want?" Shalimar sat waiting while Brennan was caught like a deer in headlights. He hadn't even realised that he had said the last part out loud. Shalimar sensed that he wasn't going to answer her question anytime soon.  
  
"I thought that we had established the fact that I wasn't angry at you anymore. I'm still not angry at you and I won't get angry with you for the rest of the night. So what's with all the brooding?" Shalimar knew that it must be about the almost kiss in her room before, but she didn't know how to broach the subject. She knew that she wanted Brennan but all the problems, such as how it would affect the group, kept bouncing around in her mind. Shalimar just hoped Brennan had the answers to all her doubts.  
  
"It's about...the...uh...the mission. I'm just thinking about the mission." Brennan replied and looked away. He couldn't talk about this twenty-five minutes before going on an extremely dangerous mission. But Shalimar was sick and tired of all the misdirection.  
  
'Does he honestly expect me to believe that? Geez, one almost kiss and he turns all silent and brooding on me. Doesn't his poetry teach him any of this stuff?' Shalimar thought she would just throw it out there and see what they came up with.  
  
"About the moment in my room Brennan..." Shalimar started, seeing him cringe and grip the steering wheel harder, "I really wanted you to kiss me then." She spoke it really quickly and then turned away, not exactly sure how Brennan would take it. But it didn't take long to get a reaction. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, Brennan turned his whole body towards her, not believing what he just heard. More importantly he completely forgot that he was driving a car. The car swerved into oncoming traffic. A car horn broke him out of his reverie and he turned back to the steering wheel, unable to suppress the huge grin on his face.  
  
Shalimar looked over to him and smiled. 'Well obviously I had nothing to worry about. This seems to be good news. But he could at least say something.'  
  
"Do you have anything to contribute to this conversation Bren, or are you just going to keep driving into oncoming traffic to avoid saying anything?" Brennan quickly pulled the car into a parking spot, turned off the ignition and looked at her.  
  
They stared at each other, their feelings evident in their eyes. Brennan inched closer to Shalimar, making sure he took everything in because this was a moment he wanted to remember forever. He stopped mere millimeteres from her lips never having broken eye contact. Shalimar could feel Brennan's breaths quicken as he kept looking at her. She had never seen such intensity in a guy's eyes before.  
  
"I want you too, " was all Brennan said before he tentatively pressed his lips against Shalimar's. The electricity caused by the slight pressure sparked between them and the kiss quickly turned to something more passionate, more instinctive and definitely more animal. While they were still kissing, Shalimar climbed over onto Brennan's lap, straddling him. She hit her bruised ribs on the steering wheel and hid the cringe as the pain subsided. Brennan placed his hands on her hips as the kiss deepened and Shalimar's tongue dipped into his mouth.  
  
They kissed until their lungs were bursting for air then they broke apart. Only the sound of their deep breaths could be heard as they watched each other. Brennan quickly placed his mouth on her neck, giving her light kisses all over. He heard Shalimar groan when he reached a place right under her ear so he darted his tongue out and licked the same place to illicit another one.  
  
Shalimar's hands were everywhere, she couldn't get enough of him and it was turning him on. As she snuck her hands underneath his shirt it was his turn to groan as felt her hands caressing his chest. But everything stopped as Brennan began to stroke her side.  
  
"What? Did I do something wrong?" Brennan was quickly becoming scared that Shalimar thought that he wasn't good enough for her. She saw the fear pass through his eyes so she gave him another sweet kiss on the lips as she slid back over to the passenger seat.  
  
"No you DEFINITELY did not do anything wrong. But since we do have somewhere to be tonight, I thought we had better get going. I really don't want to be the one to tell Adam that we were late because we were making out. Do you?"  
  
"Damn right I do. I want everybody to know that I was making out with the most beautiful girl I have ever met." Shalimar laughed at the look in his eyes. She had never seen Brennan so happy, and it made her feel good to know that she was the one to cause that.  
  
"But you are right. Jesse will be waiting for us and no doubt we will hear from Adam if we don't get moving soon. But I have to say I am really happy right now. I mean happier than I have ever been before. Do you know what I mean?" Brennan looked at her hoping that she felt the same way.  
  
"Yes Brennan, I think I know what you mean." They both smiled at each other as Brennan started up the car and reversed out of the park. As they headed to the club, Shalimar reached over and grabbed Brennan's hand and kept it there for the rest of the trip to the club.  
  
****  
  
Adam, Emma and Jesse had been waiting for a couple of minutes when they saw Brennan and Shalimar enter the club.  
  
"Okay Adam I've got them entering the front door and heading towards the bar."  
  
"Copy that Jesse, we've got them on camera. I guess it's showtime." Adam replied. This was the time he needed a good stiff drink. His stomach had been knotted most of the day but now that he was watching the plan unfold in front of him, Adam had reached a whole new level of nervousness. Something was also bothering him. He thought he had seen something on the camera that was familiar. But he couldn't pick what it was, or what he had seen.  
  
"I hope everything will be alright," Adam muttered under his breath. Emma's eyes shot up surprised hearing the doubt in their leader's words.  
  
"Brennan and Jesse are there, plus Shalimar is one hell of a fighter. You've got nothing to worry about Adam. Those boys won't let anything happen to her. Trust me." Emma looked back down at the computer watching her teammates order some drinks from the bar.  
  
'I hope you're right,' Adam prayed. 'By god I hope you're right.'  
  
****  
  
Brennan and Shalimar had only been in the club a couple of minutes but already Jesse had noticed a change in them. Their bodies were almost always touching and they kept sharing little smiles.  
  
'They couldn't have.' Jesse thought, but it certainly was evident there had been a major change in their relationship in the last half an hour. 'I know they are supposed to be pretending but I don't think you can fake the looks passing between them.'  
  
Jesse had known that it would happen sooner or later. He had noticed the tension between them almost from the start but it still unsettled him. He didn't think about Shalimar in that way but he loved her like a sister. She certainly was a very hot sister, but a sister all the same.  
  
But Jesse still couldn't help being a little bit jealous. It had only been him and Shalimar for so long and ever since Brennan had joined them, he had felt he was slowly losing his bond with her. It hurt that she would replace him like that, but still he wanted her to be happy. And there was no doubt in Jesse's mind that Brennan made her very happy.  
  
'Still, I think Brennan is going to have to get the overprotective brother speech. He's not going to get off so easily.' He watched as Brennan moved a stray hair out of Shalimar's face and smiled.  
  
****  
  
Brennan had been enjoying himself since he had entered the club. He loved being openly affectionate with Shalimar. He had made sure that he took every chance he had to touch her and the smile had not left his face.  
  
"What do you want to drink?" Brennan asked as they got to the bar. As she decided he reached out and put a stray hair behind her ear. Shalimar smiled at the intimacy of the gesture.  
  
"You can decide. Nothing alcoholic and definitely not Dr. Pepper." She screwed her face up at the thought of it. Brennan laughed at her and gave her a quick kiss as he turned to the bartender to order their drinks.  
  
Shalimar turned around, leaning her back on the bar, checking out the place. 'I wonder why I've never come here before. It looks pretty packed, and it's not cheesy or smoke filled. I definitely am going to bring Brennan back here when this is all finished.' She smiled at the thought of the future she and Brennan had together. At that moment she felt someone stand beside her.  
  
"Hey baby, come dance with me," the guy slurred. He was good looking but his eyes told Shalimar what kind of guy he really was.  
  
"No thanks, I'm just waiting for..." She was cut off when the guy had slipped his hand down to her behind and started massaging it. Shalimar's eyes flashed yellow.  
  
"Oh come on honey, we could do some fine moves out...Hey, that hurts!" he grimaced as a hand tightly gripped the arm he was holding Shalimar with.  
  
"She said she doesn't want to dance, so be a gentlemen and get out of here," Brennan said through gritted teeth. He glanced over to see Jesse standing up ready to come over and punch the guy but Brennan told him with his eyes that he had it under control. He pulled the guy's arm away from Shalimar.  
  
"Hey, who do you think you are? Me and the pretty lady here were just con...con...conversing. Weren't we sweetie?" Brennan saw Shalimar's obvious grimace at the man's names for her. He twisted his arm harder.  
  
"I suggest you leave her alone. NOW," Brennan said with a final harder twist then let go and led Shalimar to a table with their drinks.  
  
"Are you okay Shal. That guy didn't hurt you did..." He didn't get a chance to finish as Shalimar kissed him passionately. His hands reached up and gently stroked her face while they kissed. They parted and Shalimar leaned close to his ear. Her breath there nearly made him groan.  
  
"You have no idea how hot you were back then. Just wait until I get you home." Shalimar breathed, then she sat back down on a stool innocently drinking her drink as if nothing had happened. Brennan stood there, dumbstruck at the girl in front of him. 'She is going to be the death of me.' He shook his head as he sat down and picked up his own drink.  
  
****  
  
Not only Jesse, Adam and Emma were watching the altercation between the two mutants and the drunk guy. Another figure across the room had been watching Brennan and Shalimar since they had walked in. He had been captivated by the beauty of the girl, but when he had seen the flash of colour in her eyes, he knew what he had to do. The man stood up, shrugged into his coat, and walked towards the entrance.  
  
"Oops, sorry ma'am," the man said as he knocked into Shalimar.  
  
"That's okay. Wait a second, you dropped your wallet," Shalimar said holding it in her hand. He grabbed it and touched her hand for a second. Now he knew for sure that she was the one.  
  
"Thank you. Sorry again."  
  
"It's alright buddy. Have a good one," Brennan said to the guy who had interrupted him and Shalimar. He looked him in the face, and Brennan felt a strange feeling wash over him. As the guy walked away Brennan spoke into his comring.  
  
"Jesse keep an eye on that guy. I don't have a good feeling about him." A few seconds later he heard Jesse's voice.  
  
"No he's not the guy. He just left the club."  
  
"Oh, okay then. Thanks." 'I must be getting paranoid.' Brennan thought as he settled back down with his drink while watching everything in the club.  
  
****  
  
Twenty minutes had passed and no one had seen anyone in the least bit interesting. Brennan kept his eye out for the first guy who had hit on Shalimar. He couldn't believe that he could be sitting right next to her with HIS arm around her, and yet three guys had come up to her in the last three minutes! Jealousy could not even begin to describe what he was feeling.  
  
Shalimar was enjoying it. Every time a guy would come up to her Brennan would squeeze her shoulders a little tighter and move just a tiny bit closer. 'I didn't think I'd like the jealous boyfriend type. But I'm actually starting to enjoy it. But I hope he doesn't think he can do this every time we go out.' She looked at Brennan and smiled at the look in his eyes as he watched the last unlucky guy walk away from them. He looked like a little kid getting the ultimate prize in a cereal box. 'I think I'll let him get away with it for this one night.'  
  
"Jesse," Brennan muttered into his comring discreetly while lifting up his glass, "are you watching him?"  
  
"Yeah, I don't think he's the one. He's moved on to another girl."  
  
"What about the first one." Brennan scowled thinking about the guy that had put his hands on Shal.  
  
"I don't think he'll be doing much tonight. He's downed about eight whiskeys, and you sure would appreciate the shiner he got from the bartop when he passed out a couple of minutes ago." Jesse and Brennan both gave small smirks as Shalimar looked amused at the boys' maturity.  
  
****  
  
Brennan, Shalimar and Jesse had been in the club for four hours, and Adam and Emma still hadn't picked out any likely suspects from the video surveillance.  
  
"Maybe we're at the wrong club. There's got to be at least a hundred other places he could be," Adam thought out aloud.  
  
"I don't think so. I have a feeling. I don't know why but I think that we should keep them here longer." Emma said. Ever since Shalimar and Brennan had walked into the club, she had felt that something big was going to happen there. Hopefully it would turn out to be good for them.  
  
"Well let's get them out in the open a bit. Shalimar, Brennan," he said into his comring, "Get up and walk around, dance, do something. We want this guy to notice Shalimar, okay."  
  
"Okay Adam," they both replied. Shalimar and Brennan sat looking at each other.  
  
"So...do you want to...dance?" Brennan asked hesitantly.  
  
"I thought you would never ask," Shalimar smiled as she got up, grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. She turned around straight into Brennan's arms. Brennan felt like he was in heaven. He put his arms tight around her waist and held her close. He gently kissed her on the neck once and then stood up straight leaning his head against hers.  
  
Shalimar however was grimacing in pain. Brennan's arm was pressed firmly against the tender skin of her ribs and every move brought more pain. Brennan looked into her eyes and saw that something was wrong.  
  
"Shal what is it?" he asked worriedly.  
  
"Nothing." Brennan stopped dancing and moved his hands so they were now holding onto her sides. Shalimar's face contorted into one of pain again.  
  
"Shal what the hell? Are you in pain?" He squeezed her sides and when she grimaced again he knew what was wrong.  
  
"You told me that kick didn't hurt you." Guilt flowed heavily through Brennan's eyes and voice.  
  
"It's alright Brennan, I can deal with it." While she was talking Brennan moved his body so that he shielded her from view of the other dancers. He gently lifted up her shirt and saw the deep blue and black bruise across her ribs. He winced and looked into her eyes.  
  
"Jesus, Shal. We should never have come tonight. We've got to get you back to Adam and heal that bruise. I'm so sorry I did that to you."  
  
"No, we are here now so let's..." But Shalimar never got to finish her sentence as Brennan turned around and spoke into his comring.  
  
"Adam, we're getting out of here. Shalimar's hurt. She should never have come." As he finished speaking he felt a gust of wind against his back.  
  
"BRENNAN!!" Jesse screamed from a couple of metres away. Brennan swung around and saw that Shalimar was gone. His heartbeat quickened and his eyes went blurry. Jesse was yelling something but it didn't register to his ears. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion.  
  
"He went up, Brennan. He went up through the roof. I'll go out the front, you go out the back. GO!!" Jesse said as he ran past him. Brennan immediately sprang into action. He sprinted to the back door, ripping it open and running into the back alley. He saw something jump from the roof and run down the alley way, quicker than anything he had ever seen before.  
  
Brennan started some electricity sparking through his fingers trying to hit the kidnapper in the back, but he was gone before he knew it. Brennan kept firing shots of electricity as he ran, but he couldn't see the guy or Shalimar anywhere. He just kept firing electricity at the empty street, feeling useless and lost.  
  
"Brennan stop. You're going to knock yourself out," Jesse said from the other end of the alley seeing Brennan on his knees now, still shooting out electricity at nothing at all. As he walked towards Brennan, Jesse spoke into his comring.  
  
"ADAM, you need to get here now. Shalimar's gone!" Tears pricked Jesse's eyes. "We're at the back of Connection. HURRY." Jesse looked down at Brennan as he approached him slowly. The electricity Brennan was firing now was just a single small spark .  
  
"I let her go, Jesse. I lost her." Brennan cried, tears pouring down his cheeks, as his face hit the cold ground. The last things he saw before everything went black were tiny drops of rain falling and Shalimar's comring covered in blood.  
  
TBC 


	6. Emotions

Sorry, I know this is a little late, but the real world kind of interrupted my storywriting. I hope you like this chapter, and remember to give me some reviews! You wouldn't believe how much they make me want to write more.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Adam and Emma had left the Helix near an abandoned building and were running towards the two dark figures in the back alley of the club. The rain had stopped a couple of minutes earlier but the coolness of the night remained.  
  
"Adam, thank god!" Jesse looked up from his frantic pacing towards the approaching two. "I don't know what to do. Brennan won't wake up and Shalimar's gone. Shalimar's gone! Shalimar's gone!" Adam looked closely at him and saw that Jesse looked how he felt. His eyes were red rimmed and he was rapidly openly and closing his fists as he paced. Emma walked over to Jesse while Adam crouched down to check out Brennan.  
  
"Brennan...Brennan," he repeated as he shook the young mutant. He checked Brennan's pulse and breathing but everything seemed normal.  
  
"When I reached him he was on his knees and his powers were very weak," Jesse said as he walked out of Emma's embrace and towards Adam. "It was strange. I had never seen him like that before."  
  
"I think all the emotions running through his body affected his powers and tired him out. He should wake up any moment now." Adam lifted his eyes from Brennan and looked back towards Jesse. He knew he was going to have to stop avoiding the issue and face it head on.  
  
"We have to come up with a plan," Adam spoke to Jesse and Emma.  
  
"Look where your last plan got us," a weak voice groaned from the ground. Adam went to help Brennan stand up, but the young mutant just shrugged him off. Brennan slowly got to his feet and picked up Shalimar's ring. Most of the blood had washed off of it but a few dried spots still remained. He felt the pain wash over him again and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing.  
  
"Look Adam. Look what your little idea caused." He showed the ring to the group. "It's her blood! She's injured! She's alone with this guy. We know what he's capable of, and I have no goddamn idea what I'm going to do." As he spoke these last words he slipped Shalimar's ring into his pocket and wiped a stray tear from his face. Adam stepped forward to try and console him, but as soon as he went to touch him, Brennan brought his fist back and hit Adam square on the jaw.  
  
Emma stepped forward ready to use her powers if anything started between the two of them. But Brennan just turned and walked back into the club.  
  
"Shouldn't we go after him?" Jesse said ready for action. He knew how much pain Brennan must have been feeling right then, he was feeling it too. 'I know it wasn't Brennan's fault that Shal was taken, but I still kind of blame him. I know he doesn't deserve that but I can't help it,' Jesse thought to himself as he waited for Adam's answer. And even though Jesse felt slightly angry at Brennan, he knew that Brennan was the only person he could talk to about what he was going through.  
  
"No let him go. He needs to cool down. Brennan will come back to Sanctuary when he's ready." Adam softly rubbed his jaw as he continued. "What we need to do right now is to try and find Shalimar. The only way that is possible is to study the video surveillance of the club. I don't want to admit it but I know Emma and I didn't notice the guy in the footage even though he was certainly there." Adam looked down. He sensed Emma was going to try and say something to console him but he spoke again before she could open her mouth.  
  
"And when Brennan gets his head together I want you all to come back here when it's empty and check out the roof. I hope that this guy left some evidence when he took Shalimar. Now come on, it's starting to pour. Jesse, leave the car here and come back with us in the Helix. I want to get started straight away."  
  
Adam, Emma and Jesse stood in the dark alley for a few seconds with the rain pouring over them, trying to gather the physical and emotional strength to walk back towards the Helix. Adam left first hoping to keep up the rock solid exterior he was trying to portray to his group. Emma was torn between following Adam or staying with Jesse but she thought Jesse could use a few minutes alone so she headed in the direction of their leader.  
  
Jesse stood in the rain relishing the sheer coldness of it. He looked down to where Brennan had picked up Shalimar's blood stained ring. Jesse squatted down, kissed his fingertips and quickly placed them on the spot, their last connection to Shalimar. He turned his face to the sky.  
  
"We're going to find you Shalimar. Don't give up. We're going to find you." With that he hopped up and followed Emma's silhouette into the darkness of the night.  
  
****  
  
Right after he had punched Adam in the face, Brennan entered the club and paused, leaning against the back wall. He couldn't even identify all the emotions running through him at that moment. There were just too many and they were all so strong. His body wanted him to leave this place with so many people around, but his mind didn't want to leave the last place he had been with her.  
  
He saw the table where she had given him that incredible kiss after he went all macho on the drunk guy. Brennan lifted his fingers to his lips trying to remember the feel of the kiss. Then he turned to the dance floor and a wave of guilt settled inside his whole body. It was more than a wave, it felt intense, like a tsunami.  
  
Brennan walked through the club amazed that his whole entire being had been shaken to the core and yet the people around him were so unaware. He felt angry that these people didn't even notice anything had happened. Even when Jesse yelled out to him, only a few heads had turned and then the people had gone back to whatever they had been doing.  
  
As the anger built up inside him against all these complete strangers, he knew he had to get out of the club before he did anything stupid.  
  
'Damn, I hate all of these feelings. I want to stay in the club, I don't want to stay in the club. I just want to scream. I want to cry. I want to crawl up in a ball and cut myself off from the world.' As he walked out of the club, Brennan came to a decision.  
  
'But more than anything I want to find her. I want to hold her. And the only way that is going to happen is if I go back to Sanctuary with Adam. How could I have been so selfish? Finding her is all that matters.' He looked towards the car that they had arrived in, and knew immediately that he would never be able to drive it again until she was safe.  
  
As Brennan started walking up the street, he felt the weight in his pocket. He pulled out the comring and looked at it. More tears fell down his cheeks. Brennan clasped the ring tightly in his fist as he started to run as fast as he could towards Sanctuary.  
  
****  
  
When Brennan entered the lab, three heads popped up from behind the computer. Everyone was silent as they watched Brennan catch his breath and begin to speak.  
  
"So, have you find anything yet?" Brennan looked towards the other three hopefully. Adam decided to forget all that had happened in the alley way and walked towards him.  
  
"We haven't got an I.D on him yet. We've studied the footage of Shalimar being taken over and over again. But this guy is fast. I mean really fast. He is quicker than the camera frames. We keep only getting a blur."  
  
"But what about his clothes? You should be able to see roughly what colours he's wearing. Then at least we kind of know what to look for," Brennan answered hoping that they finally had some evidence to follow.  
  
"Yeah, Jesse and Emma are on that right now. They're first looking at the guys that came into contact with Shalimar. That seemed like the obvious choice. Come over and have a look."  
  
"What's the description that you've been able to come up with?"  
  
"Blue jeans, white t-shirt and we think a brown jacket." Adam looked back and noticed that Brennan had stopped still.  
  
"Son of a bitch. That GODDAMN son of a bitch!"  
  
"What is it? Do you know who it was?" Jesse said.  
  
"It was the guy that dropped his wallet. I called him buddy! How could we have been so stupid!"  
  
"I thought he had left the club..." Jesse also felt sadness engulf him.  
  
"Well he must have known we were watching! My god he was right there! He touched her!" Brennan gripped Shalimar's ring tightly and stormed out of the lab. Adam got up to follow him, but Jesse stopped him.  
  
"No let me go. I think I will be able to talk to him." Adam relented and sat back down next to Emma while Jesse went to find Brennan.  
  
****  
  
Shalimar had been struggling to get out of her kidnapper's grip as soon as he grabbed her, but he was so strong. As he carried her to god knows where, her thoughts took her back to the club. She remembered watching Brennan speak to Adam and then she felt arms around her lifting her up towards the roof.  
  
The next thing she knew they were on top of the building and Shalimar had tried to talk into her comring but the guy ripped it off her finger, taking some skin off in the process, and throwing it to the ground. Shalimar had tried to stifle a scream from the pain throbbing through her finger.  
  
"See if Adam can track you down now," he growled. 'Adam!' Shalimar thought. 'How could he possibly know about Adam? And how can this guy move so fast?' She looked back towards the club to see Brennan firing electricity towards them. 'Brennan, I'm so sorry. I know you didn't want me to come tonight, especially injured. Please find me.'  
  
Shalimar could feel the pain from her ribs where this guy gripped her with incredible strength. She was soon shaken out of her thoughts as they stopped suddenly at the door of a large building. It was definitely abandoned but it seemed to be an old medical building.  
  
"Well, here we are home sweet home." He unlocked the door while still holding Shalimar with his other arm. As soon as they were inside she could smell disinfectant and other chemicals assaulting her nose. He walked down a hallway and into a medium sized room with a table in the middle. Shalimar saw the metal restraints and knew exactly what was going to happen next.  
  
She started to writhe around and scratch his face but it had no affect on him. He lifted her up and threw her on the table. Her back and head landed with a thud on the cold metal stunning Shalimar briefly. In this time he quickly locked up both her arms and legs. She tried to move but nothing would give. Shalimar looked closely at the guy and recognised him from the bar.  
  
"You bastard. I gave you back your wallet, what more do you want?" She couldn't believe they had been so close to him.  
  
"Oh, did Vincent make Shalimar angry?" 'Vincent?' Shalimar didn't recognise the name but that didn't mean anything.  
  
"How did you know my name?" She asked still struggling against the restraints.  
  
"I know everything about you and your little Mutant X." As Vincent said this he stroked her cheek. Shalimar turned and spat in his face. He quickly slapped her hard and forced her head against the table again. Shalimar's eyes flashed yellow as she recovered from the pain.  
  
"You'll get what's coming to you soon enough. But now it's time for some sleep. I want you to fully appreciate what I have in store for you and I don't want you passing out on me. Unless it's from the pain." Vincent laughed and then he turned, switched the lights off and walked out the door, locking it behind him.  
  
Shalimar attempted one last struggle against the restraints but knew it was useless. She laid on the table feeling the stress and the fatigue of the situation catch up with her. Her last thoughts as she fell asleep were of Brennan laying beside her, cradling her in his arms.  
  
****  
  
Jesse knew exactly where Brennan would go to, so that was why he was standing at Shalimar's door trying to figure out what to say.  
  
"I know one of you are out there, so you may as well come in," Brennan said. Jesse was surprised but opened the door and walked in to see Brennan sitting on the edge of the bed looking at Shalimar's ring.  
  
"Well I didn't think it would be you," Brennan said glancing up for a second and then settling his gaze back on the ring. Jesse pulled up a chair and sat opposite him wanting Brennan to be the first to speak.  
  
"Do you blame me too?" Brennan never gazed away from the ring in his hands.  
  
"Yes..." Jesse began. Brennan winced, took a deep breath and grasped the ring tightly in his fist. He looked up at Jesse, who didn't even recognise the guy in front of him. He had never seen Brennan so...empty. He decided to continue.  
  
"Yes, but in the same way that I blame Adam for coming up with the plan. I blame Shalimar for agreeing with it, and I blame myself for letting her go and then allowing that guy to walk right past me. It's just stupid reasons. It's just anything to avoid thinking about the fact that Shalimar's gone."  
  
"Yeah." Brennan was surprised about the honesty in Jesse's answer but was happy about it.  
  
"I guess Emma stays out of your blame game," Brennan said.  
  
"Oh, give me a couple of minutes. I'll find something," Jesse replied, trying to lighten the mood a little. Brennan gave a slight smirk but then covered it, feeling guilty for even finding anything funny right now.  
  
"But really it was my fault. I turned my back on her when I was supposed to be watching her. I am the reason that she is injured and probably can't fight back against him..." Brennan didn't want to continue with that train of thought.  
  
"Shalimar's strong. Stronger than any of us. She will be alright. And plus she's not alone. She's got us and I know that we're not going to stop until she is safe back here." Jesse spoke the final words with more conviction than he felt.  
  
"I can't stop picturing her in my head. We've both seen the photos, we know what this guy is going to do. And I don't know if we are going to get to her in time. We have no idea where she is or who exactly she is with. All we have is his picture and that's not much to go on. I need to find her, Jesse." Brennan looked pleadingly into Jesse's eyes hoping for an answer. 'He's not really dealing with this. I haven't even heard him mention Shalimar's name once.' Jesse was worried that Brennan was going to be dragged down into a depression that none of them could pull him out of. Jesse knew that there was only one way to deal with this, and he hoped that it would work.  
  
"Brennan, who's gone?"  
  
"Jesse what the hell? Did you fall and hit your head?"  
  
"Who's gone?" Jesse repeated.  
  
"Stop it."  
  
"Who's gone?"  
  
"I said stop it!" Brennan lunged at Jesse and pressed him up against the wall.  
  
"Who's gone, Brennan?"  
  
"Jesse I don't want to hit you."  
  
"Who's gone?" Brennan tried to punch him, but Jesse was too quick and moved to the side.  
  
"Who's gone?" This time Brennan made contact but it didn't faze Jesse. He just raised his fist and hit Brennan in the face.  
  
"Who's gone?" Brennan was really angry now and a full out fight had started between the two of them. Jesse just kept repeating the same two words. Both of their punches were starting to weaken, Brennan more than Jesse.  
  
"Who's gone?" Jesse said as Brennan slowed and just stood absolutely still.  
  
"She's gone." Brennan whispered.  
  
"Brennan, who's gone?"  
  
"SHALIMAR, all right!" And with that Brennan totally broke down. Tears poured down his face and he couldn't catch his breath.  
  
"Shalimar's gone. Shalimar's gone. Shalimar's gone. Shalimar's gone." Jesse didn't know what to do. He stood there awkwardly watching the man in front of him totally lose control of all his senses. Brennan sank down onto the bed and put his head in his hands.  
  
"Jesus, Jesse. Shalimar's gone." Jesse slowly lowered himself in front of him.  
  
"Brennan, yes. Shalimar's gone, but we have to find her. That is more important than your guilt and blame. Those mean nothing at the moment. We have to go down there and find this guy. We can do it. I'm not sure of a lot of things but I'm sure of that. We are going to find Shalimar. She is going to be alright." Brennan's breathing calmed and he wiped the last of the tears off his face. He knew Jesse was right. They needed to get to work straight away. He wasn't going to rest until they found her. Jesse saw the conviction return in his eyes and stood back up.  
  
"Okay. I'm going back downstairs to see if Adam and Emma have found anything. I'll see you in a couple of minutes." Jesse turned and walked towards the door.  
  
"Jesse," Brennan began. Jesse turned towards him. "Thank you." Jesse nodded and continued to walk back to the lab. Brennan stood up and placed Shalimar's ring into his pocket. Brennan took one last look around the room.  
  
"I love you, Shal." And then he walked down towards the lab.  
  
****  
  
As Jesse entered the lab he saw Emma sitting by herself in front of the computer.  
  
"Where did Adam go to?"  
  
"Oh, I am glad you two are back." Jesse turned around to see Brennan right behind him. They nodded slightly at each other and turned back towards Emma.  
  
"Did you find something?" Brennan said rushing towards the computer.  
  
"Well I don't know. We finally got a close up shot of this guy and Adam went all weird. He kept muttering something like, 'It can't be him', and then he left. I haven't seen him since." Brennan started to look impatient.  
  
"If he knows something he could at least share it with the rest of us." Brennan began pacing up and down the floor. "Did he even say when he was going to come back?" Emma began to answer but a voice interrupted her.  
  
"Calm down, Brennan." They all turned to see Adam walking in carrying a box full of computer discs and files. "I think I need to explain some things to you."  
  
TBC 


	7. Vincent

Hi again everyone! A big fat thank you to everyone who has reviewed all my chapters so far. With all the great encouragement I've decided to make this story longer than I had originally planned. Not much B/S in this one, but I think I need to establish some history in the story. I hope the flashbacks in this chapter aren't too annoying and they make sense. I was going to cut them out and just have Adam telling the story, but after reading it through I decided to put them back in. Tell me what you think.  
  
Chantelle  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Adam carried the files over to the table and placed them gently down. He picked out a few and handed them to the Brennan, Jesse and Emma.  
  
"Vincent West. What does this guy have to do with Shalimar's disappearance? The guy we're looking for is about half this one's age," Brennan said becoming impatient again. He wanted to be doing something constructive, not waste his time looking at Adam's picture collection.  
  
"That's what I thought. But I noticed something on the video surveillance that I couldn't put my finger on. It didn't click until a few moments ago. Look closely at his eyes. They are exactly the same." All three of the mutants looked closer and Brennan recognised the eyes of the guy in the bar. Anger and hatred filled him as he kept staring at it.  
  
"This is the guy...this is him." Brennan took a deep breath and continued. "Well where is he? Where does he live?" He put the pictures down on the table and turned back to Adam, waiting for an answer.  
  
"Brennan, I don't know. Until half an hour ago I didn't even know he was still alive."  
  
"But Adam," Jesse interjected, "Vincent West is your age. In the bar he looked much...younger."  
  
"Well thank you Jesse. I had noticed that. You all have to understand a bit of background information." Adam reached into the box and pulled out a photograph. In it was Adam, Vincent West and a woman.  
  
"That's Vincent and his wife Dana. I used to work with Vincent a while ago. He was one of the scientists at Genomex. He was brilliant however he was always talking about this big idea of his about creating the perfect mutant. A mutant that possessed all of the powers of others mutants and more. More than anything he wanted to be able to turn normal human beings into mutants with just a series of injections of special serums. However I had always thought it was all talk. The pure genetics involved would make it nearly impossible. But if anyone could do it, Vincent could."  
  
"So you're saying that this guy finally made the serum and has been injecting it into himself," Emma surmised.  
  
"Well, yeah. I don't know to what degree he has perfected it, but I do think that is what he has done. It's the only way I can explain his incredible speed and agility. But I can't even begin to predict the side effects a chemical like that would have on a normal human being."  
  
"Maybe one of the side effects is mental instability. It could have triggered something in his brain that sent him crazy. Is that possible?" Jesse asked confused about where this story was going. Brennan just remained silent taking it all in.  
  
"Anything's possible. But there's still more to this story that you have to understand. There were only two things that mattered to Vincent in the whole world. One was his serum and the other was his wife Dana. Vincent idolised her. I've never seen anything like it. However Dana was a very unstable woman, and didn't love Vincent the way he loved her. She came to see me one day and that is when everything fell apart."  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
Adam was writing in his notebook when he heard a knock on his door. He got up and answered it.  
  
"Dana! What are you doing here? Where's Vincent? Did something happen?" Dana put her arms around Adam's neck and pushed him into the room. She closed the door with her foot as they stumbled towards his desk.  
  
"No, everything is just perfect...Now." She replied demurely as she inched her lips closer and closer to his own.  
  
"Dana. What's wrong with you?" Adam said as he tried to extricate himself from her arms, but she was very persistent.  
  
"Adam, you can't be blind. You must have sensed the intense connection between us. It's so obvious." She reached up and played with the hairs on the back of his neck.  
  
"What about Vincent? He loves you so much. How can you even think of betraying him like this?" Dana dropped her arms and took a step back from Adam.  
  
"Vincent...Ha! He's not in love with me. He's in love with the picture of me he's built up in his head. That's not a relationship. I love you. I want you. I'm going to leave him for you."  
  
"Dana...I'm not in love with you. You're Vincent's wife. Even if I had feelings for you, I would never act on them."  
  
"You just have to give it a chance, Adam. Eventually you will feel the same way." She put her arms back around him and pressed her lips against his. Adam quickly pushed her away.  
  
"I said no Dana. Go back home to Vincent. We can pretend this never happened. I won't mention it again. Just go home." Dana stared at him, anger filling her entire body as the feeling of rejection hit her. She started to scream and pace around the room.  
  
"What do you mean go home! Go back to a house that has nothing for me! A husband who speaks about nothing but some crazy idea of a perfect mutant serum! Trust me I can't live like that! You are the only chance I have for some kind of normal life! Please Adam. Give me a chance. I can make you so happy. You just have to take the risk."  
  
"No." Adam knew the only way to handle this was to be direct.  
  
"Adam..."  
  
"I said no. Just go back to your husband."  
  
"But..."  
  
"GO!" Dana stared at Adam, shocked that he had just yelled at her. Tears were falling down her face.  
  
"FINE! FINE! I'll leave but you'll regret this. You'll regret this forever." Dana turned and stormed towards the door.  
  
"It is for the best Dana," Adam said trying to calm her. "Vincent loves you more than anything in this world. Go and make him happy." But Dana didn't even reply as she walked out of the door, leaving Adam stunned at the events that had just occurred.  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
"That was the last time I saw her." Adam stopped, rubbing away the wetness in his eyes.  
  
"What happened?" Jesse asked even though he felt sure he knew the answer. Adam steadied himself and continued.  
  
"Well, Vincent had thought he had made a breakthrough with his serum that day. Which he hadn't. But anyway it meant that he didn't get home until late in the evening."  
FLASHBACK  
  
"Honey, I'm home!" Vincent opened the front door and looked around the house, noticing all the lights were off. He waited for a reply but none came. 'She must be angry that I was so late.'  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't call. But I really thought I had come close tonight, babe. I have a feeling it could be any day now." There was still no answer.  
  
"Dana!" He called as he walked up the stairs. He saw the bathroom door closed and a dim light shining through the cracks.  
  
"Did you have a hard..." As soon as he opened the door he saw her. She was in the bathtub. All Vincent could see was blood and her deathly pale face protruding out from it.  
  
"No Dana, no!" He cried as he rushed over to her. He lifted her body out of the blood filled tub, wrapped her in a towel and held her in his lap.  
  
"No! No! No! Please God, bring her back to me. Bring her back to me!" He rocked her back and forth as he sobbed. Vincent placed tiny butterfly kisses all over her face and then kissed her gently on her lips. His tears mingled with the blood that had come from the cuts on her wrists. She was so cold and her lips were bright blue, but Dana still looked beautiful to him.  
  
He placed her gently on the ground and slid to the bathroom cupboard and grabbed the first aid kit. He took out some bandages and then very gently and lovingly he wrapped up Dana's wrists. When he had finished, he carefully lifted her up and carried her into their bedroom. Vincent placed her on the bed and pulled the sheets up to her chest. He then grabbed the phone from the bedside table.  
  
"Adam, it's Vincent." Vincent tried to keep his voice steady as he told Adam what had happened.  
  
"It's alright. You don't have to be alone. I'll be right over." Adam said as he pulled on his jacket and grabbed his car keys.  
  
As Vincent hung the phone up he spied a piece of paper written in Dana's big looping handwriting. He read the hastily written words and his mind shattered along with his heart.  
  
****  
  
Adam walked through the front door and up the stairs to Vincent and Dana's bedroom. He didn't think that Vincent would leave her side, but as he entered the room he saw no sign of him.  
  
"Vincent!" But he heard nothing. Adam quietly crept toward the bed and looked sadly down at Dana's body. A tear fell down his cheek. 'Why would she do this to herself? Maybe if I had handled today better...maybe.' Adam saw Dana's letter addressed to Vincent. It contained everything that had happened. How she was sick of Vincent and his work and how she was in love with Adam but he had rejected her.  
  
"Dana, I'm so sorry," he whispered. He turned back to the bedside table and saw another piece of paper there, but this one was addressed to him and was in Vincent's handwriting.  
  
"Someday you'll have people you care about. You're going to know what it feels like to lose them."  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
"I thought it was just the grief talking. But I never saw Vincent again. All his research had disappeared from Genomex and no one ever heard from him. We all assumed he couldn't live without Dana and killed himself to be with her." Adam finished his story and looked up at the young mutants who were listening intently. He had never told this story to anyone. He still felt the guilt of Dana's death on him, but he could never change that.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Adam." Emma said. "And poor Vincent..."  
  
"Are you kidding me!" Brennan exploded. "His wife died all right. That doesn't give him the right to take anyone else's life. And he has Shalimar right now, so cut the sanctimonious crap Emma. He doesn't deserve our sympathy." Everyone looked shocked. Jesse and Adam looked towards Emma, not knowing how she would react.  
  
"I know, Brennan. I know. But you must also realise what that must have done to him."  
  
"I'm sorry I spoke to you like that Emma. But don't feel sorry for him. From what we know, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you if he got the chance. Please, don't feel sorry for him. Yes, his wife dying was the reason he has turned into what he is, but it's no justification for what he has done to all those young girls. There is nothing that can justify that." After Brennan finished his speech, all four stood silently looking at each other. Jesse decided to get things back on track.  
  
"But Adam, that doesn't explain everything. Why is he still so young? And why kill all those other girls if he was only after someone close to you?"  
  
"About his youth, I just don't know. Maybe it's one of the side effects of his serum. That's the only thing I could come up with. With the rest of your question, I think that all the deaths were part of his plan. He knew that I would get a mission together using one of you as bait once I heard about the murders. Vincent is extremely smart and I can't even begin to suggest what is going on in his mind."  
  
"So what are we going to do? We have to find this guy. Are you saying that no one has seen him in years?" Now that Brennan had a face to focus on he was ready for a fight.  
  
"I've tried some of my old contacts, but no one knows anything."  
  
"But if he's making this serum, he must be in touch with somebody right?" Jesse asked. "Someone must be selling him supplies." Adam felt like he was disappointing them with the little information he had.  
  
"That's something I'm going to look into while you three are at Connection looking for evidence. But right now I want everyone to get some sleep." He looked at Brennan warily, expecting a fight from him.  
  
"You've got to be kidding me! How can we sleep while Shalimar could be anywhere and could possibly be in pain?" Brennan was incredulous that Adam would think that he would be even able to sleep while Shalimar was gone. Jesse saw in Adam's face what the events of the night had done to him. Adam was in as much pain as anyone so Jesse decided to help him out.  
  
"Brennan, Adam's right. If we want to find Shalimar we have to be at our best, and to be our best we need some sleep. It's only a few hours until we go back to the club so until then, sleep!" Jesse knew that Brennan and himself would not get any sleep, but he saw the fatigue in Emma's eyes and knew she wouldn't rest until the others would. He just hoped that Brennan caught on.  
  
"Fine, I'll rest. But four hours and no more! I'm leaving for Connection early and you all better be up. Okay?" He waited for all their answers and all three nodded their heads.  
  
"All right, I'll see you in a few hours." Brennan turned around and headed towards Shalimar's room. Emma followed soon after.  
  
"Is he all right?" Adam asked Jesse.  
  
"He's functioning," Jesse mused. "But I don't think any of us will be alright until Shalimar is back here. Especially Brennan, and I don't want to find out what it will do to him if she doesn't..." They both got lost in their own thoughts after that remark. After a few moments silence they looked into each other's eyes and then went their separate ways.  
  
****  
  
Shalimar had woken up many times since Vincent had left. She just couldn't sleep. The metal of the table was cold against her back, wrists and ankles. And her head and cheek hurt like hell. She had woken up from another dream of her and Brennan together, when she heard the rattle of keys in the lock. Shalimar tensed up.  
  
"Well, looky looky, you're up. Isn't that great? I know it's only been two hours but I just couldn't wait. So how's Adam these days?" Shalimar was confused. How did this guy know Adam? And had it really been only two hours!?  
  
"Why don't you ask him yourself?"  
  
"Oh, but you are much lovelier to look at. I bet you mean a lot to him, don't you? He would do anything for you, huh?" Vincent smiled, but Shalimar didn't answer.  
  
"So you're the strong, silent type. No matter. If you don't want to talk, I can find something else to do with you." Vincent walked towards one of the drawers and slid it open to reveal a set of scalpels. He picked one up and walked back towards Shalimar.  
  
"Hey if you want to talk, don't let me stop you. What do you want to talk about? Sports, world affairs, the economy. I'll talk with you," Shalimar quipped offhandedly. She hoped that he couldn't see the fear in her eyes.  
  
"No, you had your chance. Now I just want to play with you. But where will I start, hmm?" He ran his hands up her legs. "Here? No." He kept continuing up until he reached her ribs. She tried to contain the flinch but he felt it underneath his fingertips.  
  
"What do we have here?" Vincent said as he lifted up her shirt and saw the bruise. "Do you like to play rough? Well what a coincidence because so do I." With that he lowered the scalpel and lightly nicked the tender skin, but it wasn't enough to make it bleed.  
  
"And we'll put another one here and here. Now that's better." He muttered as he continued to run the scalpel along Shalimar's skin. The next cuts were slightly deeper and blood started to bead along them. Shalimar flinched with every cut and she blinked away the tears in her eyes. Just when she thought he was finished, he took one last cut right down her side. It was a lot deeper than all the others.  
  
"Ahhh." Shalimar couldn't contain the little cry of pain as she looked down at the cut. It was an angry red colour and blood poured out of it, but not enough to be life threatening.  
  
"Alright, I've warmed you up now. I'll be back later for a little bit more fun. Enjoy yourself." Vincent wiped down the scalpel and placed it neatly back in the drawer. He placed a light kiss on Shalimar's forehead and then walked out, locking the door behind him.  
  
After she heard his footsteps recede into the background she strained her neck up to look down at her stomach, watching the blood trickle over it.  
  
"Brennan." Shalimar whispered as she layed her head back down. That was the only thought that would get her through this. "Brennan."  
  
****  
  
Brennan suddenly sat up on Shalimar's bed. He sensed something was wrong, that Shalimar was in pain. He took her ring out of his pocket and tried to slide it over his pinkie finger.  
  
'I never realised how tiny she was.' He thought as the ring only reached halfway on his finger. But he kept it there. 'So tiny but so strong. Much stronger than me.' Brennan slid down to the floor, quietly crying.  
  
"Stay strong, Shal. I'm going to bring you back to me. Just hold on." He whispered as the tears continued to fall.  
  
****  
  
Shalimar felt an immense and unexplainable calmness fill her body at that moment, and she drifted off to sleep.  
  
TBC 


End file.
